SawdustDave

Hi Pat, I showed my set up here: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/410-hms-sphynx-by-alex-m-scale-148-english-20-gun-frigate-as-build-1775/?p=5559 I have turned them on an old Unimat SL machine. To turn taper surfaces you should set the head stock to the angle of taper, so I do it as showed in the picture from above. Then I have tuned each gun at one time using brass template as guide.
 
Here is my Unimat:


 
Alexander

The breeching ropes, material is 120 Gütermann poliester.
 


















 
To be continued.
 
Alexander

The turning of gun barrels with duplicator on my Unimat SL lathe.
 




 
The holder for bore the holes and blackening test.
 







 
All barrels turned and bored:
 


Gluing of royal arms and vent plates with CA glue
 




 
All guns done and ready for mounting on carriages

 
To be continued.
 
Alexander

The ruder fittings, eye and ring bolts.
 
The ruder hinges are cut out from solid brass 2mm x 10mm, then filed by hand with a file.
 







 
The little tool for eyebolts and the process of making (the wire is 0;4mm):
 









 
The shot lookers:
 



 
To be continued.

Alexander

Hi all and many thanks for your comments!
 
some photos of manufacturing of deck planks with caulking. The first photo shows the complete process. The paper was glued to one surface of the prepared piece of wood, then the piece are cut in to planks. I used the Proxxon steel saw blade 50 x 0,5mm (photo 2). It gives very clean cut and does not need for sanding before gluing.
 



(note an additional piece for fence is that the plank would not be clamped)

 
The planking of deck:
 







 
the work go on and the deck is nearly completted. The ridding bits and anchor bitts are only dry placed without a glue, and anchor cable is still for photo shooting.







 
The deck of Captain's cabin is done, the planking of after part of hull is completed and lower counter rail also on place.
 





 
Added some photos:
 



 
To be continued.
 
Alexander

Thank Daniel!
 
The hull was then oiled with linseed oil bellow the main wales:
 


 
Here some images of gratings, hatches, ladders and gun deck framing, is now completed and is ready for planking.
The lower deck is also completed and oiled, the after part is painted black.
These are also some close views of main ladder and other things.
 












 
To be continued...

Best regards

Alexander

Some images from my home made draw plante with treenails 0,6mm for treenailing the hull, and the tools used for:
 


 
And here the hull while treenailing:
 




 
The main wales are painted with acrilic paint:
 


 
To be continued...
 
Best regards
 
Alexander

There are some pictures illustrating the macking of rails (boxwood).
 






here is short description of scraping process:

The width (and as also as possible the depth) of the profile cut in the razor-blade must correspond exactly the width of the strip, otherwise the blade follows the wood grain and does not run straight. With the first 2 to 3 courses the pressure of razor blade against the strip should be low, afterwards step by step with higher pressure. For a profile shown I need 20 to 30 courses, depends which kind of wood. I tried different woods and mostly the results were good, the boxwood I choose because of the color, and due to the fact the timber is very hard, which is an advantage with fine small profiles.
 
The rails in place with gun port and part of main wale.
 

 
The plankin get close to end:

 
and finally done:
 


 
Best regards

Alexander

Hello all here!

I'm glad our World is back! So I start here my build log for HMS Sphynx. In the past life (I mean old MSW...) I have some images added to gallery, so I will post them all here in chronological order with some descriptions.

The Sphynx was 20 gun ship designed by J. Williams, and was smallest 6th rate frigate. She was built in 1775 at Portsmouth, Hampshire and broken ap in 1811. The Sphynx-class is also the last class of small frigates with 9 pdr. There are 10 further ships builded:

Camilia, Chathan Dyd, 20.4.1776-1809
Daphne, Woolwich Dyd., 21.3.1776-1802
Galatea, Deptford Dyd., 23.3.1776-1783
Ariadne, Chatham Dyd., 27.12.1776-1814
Vestal, Plymonth Dyd., 23.35.1777-1777
Perseus, Randall, Rothehille, 20.3.1776-1805, 1798 convertet to a bomb vessel
Unicorn, Randall, Rothehille, 23.3.1776-1787
Ariel, Perry & Co., Blackwall, 7.7.1777-1779
Narcissus Plymonth Dyd., 9.5.1781-1796

For this project I have ordered the original plans from NMM, and I have decided to redraw the plans for model building. For decorative work and also some other details I have ordered the pictures from "Science and Society Picture Library" http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10325356 . For dimensions of all hull details I have used the Establishment lists, and Steels "The Elements of masting and Rigging" for mast, yards and standing rigging. The running rigging and sailing plan also arrive later.
The result looks at time thus: http://zope.mein-media.de/meinmedia/plans/index.html

In February 2006 the plans were ready, at least so far that I have begun with the building of the model. Parallel and in addition I have done further research, and the plans are further worked out.
 
Now the images of beginning:




 
The main wales are cut according to plan, and glued on. Then waterway, spirketing and part of planking abowe main wales are added.




 
The model was then put keel over, and underwater planking begins.




 
Best regards

Alexander

The dead eyes are really nice Mark....links turned out great. Best part, you will not have to tie all those clove hitches.

Hi Mark:
I enjoyed going through your build log. Very nice work. I definitely agree with you about 1:48 scale. Currently working at 1:60th and actually wishing I had gone to 1:50th. Thanks for sharing.
Dave

Moving right along.....
 
Rail transitions pieces complete, tree pumps complete, rudder chains complete, capstan rigging complete.  Misc Cleanup operations in-process.
 
Once the pumps were gel coated I used the ship as a drying rack.  Not your typical look.  Once the pumps were in place the gun deck is complete for this build.  Lots of stuff going on at the quarterdeck line:
 

 
I decided to attach the rudder chains (since I was blackening the pump metal, might as well blacken the chain).  The attachment points were equivalent to the cannon tackle on the gun deck.  The ships lettering goes right above the chains.
 

 
I can finally sit back and see how close I am:
 

 
The channels, ships wheel, ship name lettering and figurehead are all that remain (end of the month?)
 
Stay Building My Friends,
Mark

I think these links are among the most time consuming and frustrating things I have done on this build.  I have spent a lot of time trying to get them right and have probably thrown out enough wire to do 2-3 ships.  Never anticipated this at all.  After a lot of false starts and changes in techniques I finally have something that I am okay with:
 

 
Thirty eight (38) total pieces involved for this.  I have only kept track since about a third of the way in the build but I have to be over 2500 total pieces so far.....
 
Now to just do the same thing for the other five!  I am hopeful I can cut the time required for each to just a couple of hours per.
 
Stay Building My Friends,
Mark

I got all the beams painted (carilngs and ledgings too) on the sides and underside but nothing photogenic so I skip the attached pic. 
 
I did notice I had not finished the gun deck supports so I had to get a few manufactured.  I dug around my odds and ends box and found the original (simple) jig I had made for those things.  Wasn't too long before I had the ones required made up.
 


 
I do dowel them into the lower deck but skip this step for the top end.  Just too hard to get everything aligned.
 
My biggest hope was to fashion the metal work for the rudder.  Pulling down my supplies I found my flux had dried up to look like some meteor just fresh through the atmosphere.  I could not find the stuff local and spent days and $$'s trying other stuff that just didn't work.  Finally ordered the original stuff and hope to get it later this week:
 
Handy Flux for soldering or brazing gold, silver, brass, copper  8 oz.
 
Hopefully more progress to show soon,
Mark

Finally got the time to put one coat of the gel urethane on the starboard side (to include in between the frames).  In the picture of the bow the location of the eking rail was left 'in the raw.'   Due to lighting issues, the bow pic is a little washed out.
 

 

 
This wasn't that hard to apply at all.  It made the frame components really pop and highlight the plank joins.
 
I am still looking at applying another coat.  This was a good thing to do and I am glad I was pushed in this direction.
 
Mark

On to the chesstrees.  There is definitely a few hours here as will be explained below.  My first gut was to jump right in, make a cardboard template to match the hull shape, transfer to a wooden piece and get'r done.  Well, I never really like butt joints that show and in this case I was unable to get a real tight fit all around the chesstree.  Pause to think.....
 

 
Well, the easiest way is to inset the chesstree into the planking.  So, I carefully trace around the chesstree and chisel half a plank depth away.
 

 
The result is much more satisfying.  As a bonus, the joint will be a whole lot stronger.
 

 
Now here came the biggest problem to overcome, creating the sheave hole.  At first I jumped in and carefully drilled a hole at both ends of the sheave hole and tried to remove any remaining wood in between.  I didn't even take a picture as the result was totally unacceptable no matter how much I carefully filed, scraped and poked.  I ended up walking away for the night. 
 
Later on the solution came to me and involved keeping it as simple as possible.  I would cut into the chesstree to the sheave from the bottom.  Once everything was cleaned up (now that the entire hole was accessible this was easy), a small section of wood would be replaced.  Very quick and the result I liked very much.  The actual block you see is one fashioned quickly and will be replaced.
 

 

 
So overall the process was probably 3.5 hours.  The next one for the port side will probably be done in less than half the time but I am okay with that.  I ended up with something that looks good and methodically worked through the issues as they came up. 
 
Cheers,
Mark

RIght now I have no plans to.  This hull has been around for 8 years (assembled) and been very stable so far.  Also, there are already regions I am unable to adequately reach.  With basswood really need some sort of sealer.
 
This whole ship has been a learning experience for me.  Most items (where possible) are doweled or positioned with clamps as opposed to glue to allow some movement.  I attach an internal pic of the orlop deck which has survived with no ill effects so far.
 
Loving the hobby,
Mark
 

Greetings (again).  Returning to MSW after a bit of off time (eg I just completed my 5th sprint triathlon).  I have not been idle and have lately been kicking it into high gear with my version of the HMS Druid.  Believe it or not, started in 2003 (two kids and a couple of homes ago) but looking to finish in the first quarter, 2014.  I have loved every minute I have spent - probably a little over 300 hours so far.
 
I just finished with the bow assembly (sans the eking rail which will wait until the cathead is affixed).  Previous to that was the stern caprail.  I believe I am on the downhill of this build.  Next up is finishing the rudder metal work and then working up from the berthdeck finishing all the details.
 
Additionally I have made progress on my Lady Anne and finished the DaVinci wing (currently on display at the Michigan Aviation Academy), but that will be a subject for another day.
 
Mark

A second day of studying Karl's craftsmanship....I remain speechless....there simply are no words that would serve justice to what my eyes are telling me. This work could only be properly described by a great poet.
Thank you Karl
 
For Karl......
 
Ein zweiter Tag des Studiums Karl's Handwerkskunst .... Ich bin immer noch sprachlos ... es gibt einfach keine Worte, w\'fcrde dazu dienen, was meine Augen mir sagen. Diese Arbeit kann man nur richtig beschrieben durch ein gro\'dfer Dichter.\
Vielen Dank Karl

OK, This is just insane! Somebody help me out here. Please send me a PM if you know of a more skilled craftsman than Karl, because I would really like to see it for myself. The cannon is simply mind blowing.
Dave

A second day of studying Karl's craftsmanship....I remain speechless....there simply are no words that would serve justice to what my eyes are telling me. This work could only be properly described by a great poet.
Thank you Karl
 
For Karl......
 
Ein zweiter Tag des Studiums Karl's Handwerkskunst .... Ich bin immer noch sprachlos ... es gibt einfach keine Worte, w\'fcrde dazu dienen, was meine Augen mir sagen. Diese Arbeit kann man nur richtig beschrieben durch ein gro\'dfer Dichter.\
Vielen Dank Karl

A second day of studying Karl's craftsmanship....I remain speechless....there simply are no words that would serve justice to what my eyes are telling me. This work could only be properly described by a great poet.
Thank you Karl
 
For Karl......
 
Ein zweiter Tag des Studiums Karl's Handwerkskunst .... Ich bin immer noch sprachlos ... es gibt einfach keine Worte, w\'fcrde dazu dienen, was meine Augen mir sagen. Diese Arbeit kann man nur richtig beschrieben durch ein gro\'dfer Dichter.\
Vielen Dank Karl

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 68 – Lower deck framing continued
 
In the first picture the beams around the opening for the main mast have been installed.
 

 
The forward beams and half-beams around this opening have double pillars – one on each side - set on the base timbers on the hold planking.
 
Making and setting these pillars, with their four knees each, is a large portion of the work involved with these beams.  The next picture shows a monofilament bolt being installed in an upper knee that has already been glued into an assembly.
 

 
The next picture shows the three parts of a pillar assembly ready for installation.
 

 
The lower knees will be installed after the top assembly is set in place and glued.  In the next picture the final beam – a half beam – is ready to be installed.
 

Unlike the other pillars, this one has been pre-installed since there will be insufficient space to do it later.  The hanging knee has also been pre-attached to the half beam for this reason.  The pillar is pinned to the base with a piece of wire.
 
The next picture shows the final beams installed.
 

 
Copper wire bolts have been installed through the tops of the beams to help secure the them, their hanging knees and each of the pillars   these are glued with epoxy that has not yet been sanded off the tops of the beams.
 
The next picture is another view of this area.
 

 
All of the work below the beams has been finished with beeswax solution before installing the ledges.  Missing lodging knees, carlings, ledges and a lot of monofilament bolts still need to be installed to complete the lower deck framing. 
 
The last picture shows most of the lower deck at this stage.
 

 
 Ed

Thanks, everyone.  I appreciate the comments and "likes".
 
Karl, I can only humbly return the sentiments you express whenever I look at "Poor Richard."
 
E&T, I too, continue to be amazed at themassive structure - and Webb was not nearly as free with big timbers as McKay!  WE have to remeber that these 1850's American clippers were built for the California service and that meant westward passages around Cape Horn fully-loaded - and always at speed, of course.  Young America made this passage 50 times in her long career.  Not many ships could make that claim.  There's more heavy stuff to come.  I just ripped off the 10" by 12" standing strakes that cap the lower deck waterways.
 
Druxey, sorry to coin a new phrase - it just popped out.  Once you commit to modeling bolts on one of these, you have let yourself in for something.  At that, I think I am only getting at half or less than the true number.  Its getting crowded on the outside of the frames and I still have most of the dummy bolts for the hanging knees to install.  I am starting to experience what the shipyard drillers were faced with - trying to find room for a hole.  I have drilled through a few bolts already.  There will be two per frame for those standing strakes I just cut.
 
Thanks, again for all the comments and the interest.  We have a long way to go.
 
Ed

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 69 – Final lower deck framing/
Waterways
 
In the first picture the last ledge of the lower deck framing is being marked for cutting.
 

 
Once all of the beams and carlings were set, the remaining ledges went quickly – a morning’s work.  These are 9” wide and 7” deep – hard pine on the original like the rest of the deck framing – except for the hanging knees – white or live oak.
 
The next picture shows the completed framing – looking aft.
 

 
Sometimes it is hard to decide from which direction these pictures were taken.  The fore and aft ends of this deck are very similar.  The next picture shows the area around the main hatch and main mast.
 

 
At this stage the deck members – beams, carlings, ledges – have been sanded flat and finish sanded.  All traces of the bolt glue are gone.  Below is a picture taken above the foremast area.
 

 
No time to celebrate - on to the waterways.  These monsters are 15” square – hard pine on the original – as long a log as possible.  The first picture shows the foremost section on the starboard side.
 

 
The outboard face has to be beveled back to fit tight against the frames and flat on the deck beams.  There is a slight gap between the waterway and the tops of the lodging kneses.  This was discussed earlier.  The next picture shows a closer view..
 

 
In this picture the section has been glued in and clamped.  As many copper wire bolts as the interference with the clamps would allow were then inserted and epoxy-glued from both ends.  When the clamps are removed the remaining bolts will be installed down into the beams and through the frames.  The hook scarph connecting this piece to the next section was fit before installing the forward piece.  I wish I had made this piece longer to get the joint into a straighter area.  It was hard to close on the curve.  The next picture shows a wire beam bolt being inserted in the next section.
 

 
The pin coming through in the lower left corner is a marker for the hole drilled from the outside so I can find it to fill it with a bolt.  The outsides of the frames are becoming “bolt-dense.”  The air gaps above the lodging knees between the beams and ledges show clearly in this picture.
 
The last picture shows the second section of waterway after filing off the bolt heads and epoxy.
 

 
The waterway has been sanded smooth.  A 12” wide by 10” deep “standing strake” will be installed along the top of the waterway.  A thick “binding strake” – the outer strake of planking will butt against the side of the waterway and bolted horizontally through it as well as into the deck beams. I believe a “margin plank” was installed inboard of the binding strake, but I am still researching this.
 
 
 Ed